Alveolar decomposition

Due to missing teeth, the jawbone is no longer burdened and subsequently recedes (bone loss). In periodontology, the alveolus is the bony part of the periodontium.

"Alveolus" is the name for the upper jaw-bone cavity and lower jaw-bone cavity. The alveolus is the tooth socket of the tooth root (lat. small hollow, tub). Between it and the tooth root lies the joint-like periodontal gap with Sharpey fibers. The alveolar ridge is a cavity shaped like the root of the tooth, which is elastically suspended in it. If the tooth has more than one root, there may also be more than one alveolus. Single-rooted teeth such as the front teeth and canines are very deeply embedded in the jawbone at the beginning of root formation, multi-rooted teeth are not very deeply embedded in the alveoli.

The reduction of the alveoli means the reduction of the alveolus. The resorption process (degradation) of the tooth roots begins in milk teeth as soon as their root formation is complete. The dissolution of the surrounding alveolar bone and the periodontium precedes the dissolution of the milk tooth roots. The hard substances are decomposed by the osteoclasts and dentoclasts or the tissue structures of the periodontal membrane are dissolved by fibroblasts and macrophages. This bone loss becomes visible on X-rays in periodontopathy. Alveolar ridge atrophy is the degradation of the jawbone after tooth loss. Periodontitis is a bacterially caused inflammatory disease of the periodontium. In an advanced stage, it can lead to the degradation of the jawbone and ultimately to tooth loss. The alveolar process is a bony foundation for the tooth roots or a part of the jawbone. The alveolar process forms with the emergence of the tooth and recedes after the loss of the tooth.